Guest Blogger: artist Frances Clements Fawcett: Loons! Maine “Memory Mailbox” Continues to Deliver Delight

I'm pleased to welcome guest blogger Frances Clements Fawcett. Welcome, Frances!





Hooray it’s autumn! Brilliant reds, rich oranges and yellows, and sizzling gold are staging their annual fashion show on the trees here at Yes and Yay HQ.  Predictably, when I spot a particularly dazzling tree, I’ll smile and declare, “Oh my, this reminds me of Maine!”

I’ve blurted this phrase umpteen times to my patient husband and friends, when some image, scent or sound sparks a childhood memory. You see, I grew up spending my summers on Barker Pond, which is about an hour inland from Portland. Embraced by the forest, water and lots of family and kids, this magical time is lovingly stamped into my heart.

 
And these cherished memories continue to delight and inspire me. When they pop up into my head (or “FCF’s Memory Mailbox”, as I like to call my brain), it’s like receiving a surprise postcard from the past!

One of my all-time favorites was paddling our family’s blue canoe on the pond, hoping to spot a loon. Ah those enchanting loons!  As a kid I’d hear their haunting laughs and cries between claps of thunder on a muggy summer night, or in the early morning before other sounds competed with their songs.

Loons have popped into my art in colorful ways.  I never tire of interpreting their bold markings in my whimsical paintings and hand carved prints.

 Jeff and I even designed our wedding bands with entwining loons!

Today as I tap out these words, I’m spying on a petite and feisty Douglas squirrel that is dropping fir cones from the towering tree outside my studio window. After he collects a pile, he gathers them into golden pyramid-like mounds. I imagine that he’ll save the extra-special, plump cones to unpack and savor later this winter.


And like the squirrel, my treasured cache of Maine memories continues to delight and inspire my art-filled life. (Thanks Mom and Dad!)


What cherished childhood memories are squirreled away in your heart?


When they arrive in your Memory Mailbox how do you translate them into fresh stories and art?

Why not hit that reply button and share your favorite memory sparks with us?!



In Delight and Loon-Lovin’ Gratitude,

PS  - thanks Kristina for letting me share this post on your blog!

mountains, lupines & fiddleheads: 2 artists' love-affair with Maine

 

As you may know from my previous writings---I have long had a love-affair with the state of Maine.




beaver pond, oil on canvas, 12 x 18 inches. ©2007 Kristina Wentzell




From spending my childhood summers with my grandparents in the northwestern mountains to living as an adult along the rocky, wave tossed shores of the state-- I have always felt this beautiful place to be home.



going back to camp, oil on canvas, 24 x 18 inches. ©2009 Kristina Wentzell

The first time I put brush to canvas, scenes from Maine have been a seminal inspiration for my art.  Dusky blue mountains rising from jewel colored lakes, purple lupines covering every meadow & roadside, spring green curls of fiddleheads, dark conifer forests dotted with slender white birches--these are the images I draw from again and again.




lupine field, oil on canvas, 12 x 12 inches. ©2007 Kristina Wentzell

I happily make my home in the lovely Monadnock region of New Hampshire now (complete with its own set of unparalleled inspirations) but Maine will always have my heart.


So, when my friend and fellow artist, Frances Clements Fawcett agreed to guest post on my blog and asked if she could write about her own love affair with Maine--I was beyond thrilled.


Frances (AKA The Delight Detective) hails from the pacific northwest. Her blog, The Delight Detective's Universe of Yes and Yay, is a whimsical and wonderful place.  Filled with Frances' delightful fiber creations and her musings about life are just brimming with happiness and positivity. I encourage you to grab a cup of tea and stop over and spend a while.  A couple favorites are this post about Frances' belief in a friendly universe and this post about the unexpected delights that await us when we drop everything and just go.


In the meantime, stay tuned--on Tuesday Frances will be posting here about her own inspirations from Maine (including that very special & ethereal Maine water bird beloved by many--can you guess which kind?)





dead river evening, oil on canvas, 12 x 18 inches. ©2007 Kristina Wentzell



4 great things about Portland, Maine

Four reasons that Portland Maine is one of the coolest cities in the US

As I get ready for the 47th annual Portland Sidewalk Art Festival, I want to share a few reasons that make this small gem of a city one of the coolest places in the country.  Besides being the place where I met my husband Chris, it holds a particular place in my heart for its unique combination of great restaurants, art galleries, funky shops, and outdoor spaces.   Here are four reasons I find Portland to be a fantastic place to spend a weekend in the summertime…

1. Restaurants, restaurants, restaurants

It’s been said that Portland has more eating establishments per capita than San Francisco.  I’m not sure if that’s true, but it would be easy for me to dine on great food for at a least month without returning to the same place twice.  That said, I find myself returning to the Green Elephant on Congress Street again and again.   Everything on the menu is vegetarian, which is heaven for someone who is usually stuck with pasta primavera at a typical place.  Another great spot is the Pepper Club on Middle Street.  When we were young and struggling to make the rent, it was a big deal for Chris and I to save up $20 and ‘splurge’ on two entrees here  --20 years later it is still a favorite.

dusk, oil on canvas. ©2010 Kristina Wentzell sold

2. Beachcombing

The rocky coast of Maine has few beaches, but most of them are bunched up along the southern coast from Portland south to the New Hampshire border.  In the Portland area, Bug Light is a great place to get a view of the city and find some amazing sea glass and other treasures, especially at low tide.  Within a twenty minute drive are Crescent and Scarborough beaches, both of which offer a great place for an evening stroll.  If you want to swim, try to time your visit during an afternoon high tide, when the incoming water washes over sand that has baked in the sun all morning, making the water much more tolerable than normal.

by the shore, oil on canvas. ©2010 Kristina Wentzell   sold

3. Islands

The city of Portland includes two community islands complete with regular ferry service.  Peaks Island is a commuter’s dream, just 20 short minutes from downtown, it is essentially a bedroom community surrounded by the Atlantic.  It’s a great place to bike or walk, get a bite to eat and even spend the night.  Cliff Island is more remote, facing the open Atlantic about an hour ferry ride from Portland.  There are a number of other resident islands served by Casco Bay Ferry Lines, and the regular mailboat run is a fabulous way to see them all.

4. Outdoor dining 

One of the most stunning dining experiences in the area is the Lobster Shack, a seasonal restaurant perched on the rocks of Cape Elizabeth, overlooking the open Atlantic.  You can watch lobster boats hauling traps, and let your kids scramble around on the rocks looking for creatures in the many tidal pools.  I’ve visited this same spot in winter when the Shack is closed and massive storms bring enormous waves to the Cape, blasting across the rocks with a furious roar.  In summer, the ocean tends to be much more calm, and the dependable sea breeze makes this one of the coolest spots to eat in Greater Portland.

once by the ocean, oil on canvas. ©2010 Kristina Wentzell

WCSH Portland Sidewalk Art Festival

I'll back in one of my very favorite cities for my third visit

to the WCSH Portland Sidewalk Art Festival. 



follow the sun, oil on canvas. ©2012 Kristina Wentzell

Don't miss this show!

It is one of the best in New England--300 artists all set up in downtown Portland.  Lots of great energy, fine art & a lively crowd. When you're all done, there are a zillion great restaurants and shops to check out downtown and in the Old Port.

I'll be in my usual spot in Congress Square in front of the Portland Museum of Art.  Look for the giant, red poppy to find me!

47th Annual WCSH Portland Sidewalk Art Festival

August 25th (raindate 8/26)

Portland, Maine

9am to 4pm

what to do in mud season

Early May in Rangeley, Maine is mud season.

The north country doesn’t really have spring like the rest of us…the long, cold winter up there sort of just segues into a season of fog, chilly raw days, and mud. Lots of mud.  It’s a bit early for fishing, much too cold to swim, all the locals get out of town to Florida for the month, and every restaurant in town closes down.

It’s real quiet.

On the drive in to town, in the last 50 miles or so we passed not one car on the state highway.

We did see 4 moose.

So, when my family went to Rangeley this week for a few days, our entertainment options were a bit limited.  There is one thing to do this time of year that is an annual rite of passage. 

Fiddleheading.

Fiddleheads are the curled fronds of a just emerging fern, harvested as a vegetable.  Nearly everyone in town has their secret fiddleheadin’ spot.  They tend to grow in wet areas along the rivers.

My grandfather took me fiddleheading when I was younger. He was a quintessential old Maine guide, tough and woods savvy.  He always knew of a good spot to find ‘em.  He picked fiddleheads by the gallon and stored them for the year.  He would eat them boiled, steamed, canned, fried, in pancakes and even pickled.  Some studies show that fiddleheads eaten in large quantities can be toxic but he lived to be 99 years old.

So, this week we went off to that same spot by the Dead River my grandfather took me to go fiddleheading. It was still a bit early and the fiddleheads were on the small side.  We were only able to scrounge a few.  My two little charges were skeptical, or shall we say, not as familiar with the delights of fiddleheads.  But that’s okay, they’ll get there...fiddleheads are a learned appreciation.

For those of you on my mailing list, you might have noticed the delicate, curled fronds on the back of every postcard.  Now you know the story.

a scene from Maine

Kristina Wentzell, Bigelow over Flagstaff Lake, oil on canvas, 12 x 16 inches. ©2011

Here is a new piece I painted recently as a gift for some family members. A scene from Maine--a place always very near and dear to me.

Bigelow Mountain sits in the lovely north western region of Maine. My now husband and I hiked it when we were first dating on a crisp Autumn day. Afterwards, I brought him to meet my grandparents who lived in nearby Rangeley. At the time my grandfather, then in his late 80s, was the sole caregiver for my ailing grandmother. We stopped in for lunch on our way back through town and were welcomed with a huge spread of roast chicken, potatoes, gravy and vegetables. No little sandwich to meet their granddaughter and her new fella.

We've hiked the mountain a couple of time since then but still when I think of that beautiful vista it always make me think of that cozy afternoon spent in my grandparents' kitchen.

my grandfather, about 8 years later with our daughter, his first great-grandchild

how I sold my first painting

I was standing behind the counter, bored--fresh out of art school and working at my parent’s shop for the summer, I stood there making motions of dusting, not paying attention to the few customers who were browsing in the back of the store.

the west branch of the Dead River

The shop was called Old Port Artisans and was in the vibrant Old Port of Portland, Maine.  We carried the work of over 70 regional fine craftsmen and fine artists. A lovely selection of pottery, woodworking, jewelry, prints, fiber arts, a bit of everything.

The couple from the back came to the counter carrying something to purchase and asked me “can you tell us anything about this artist”?

As they set the piece on the counter, I realized with a shock it was my painting--a little gouache landscape of birch trees and a river scene (a favorite spot where my grandfather took me fiddleheading as a girl). 

I had a placed a few of my paintings in the shop earlier in the summer but hadn’t thought much more about it.

The couple looked at me expectantly. I stammered something about the artist being me, my face turning red.  Miraculously, they didn’t change their mind or point at me shrieking “YOU’RE the artist!?”  They paid for the painting and left the store, happily chatting about where they were going to hang it.

Well, that certainly changed the flavor of my day.  I stood up straighter, finished my shift, and ran home to get back at my easel.

The Dead River and a good fiddleheading spot

Sadly, the painting in the story is lost to me…this happened before I learned the valuable lesson to photograph every painting before it leaves my studio.  Hey, maybe it’ll resurface…if you purchased a lovely, little gouache in 1991 in Portland—get in touch!

height of land

"height of land"

watercolor ~ 5 x 7 inches

headed to Maine

I spent the day packing up my studio for our big trip to Maine. As much as I try to pack light we always end up with stuff on the roof and piled high in the back. Who are these people that can travel with their tiny little suitcase? I bet they don't have kiddos and an art show! We'll be there for a couple of weeks, so I probably won't be posting much. I'll try and do at least one from the Art Under the Birches show. In the meantime, here are a few shots from my garden for your viewing pleasure.

enough already with winter ~ daily painting

Still dreaming of spring in my studio...30 degrees outside with snow on the ground. This painting is of a lupine field in my hometown. If you've never been to Maine in June and seen the lupines in bloom, it is a sight to behold....along every roadside, meadow, hill...just covered with purple, white and pink. And that indescribable smell...like pepper mixed with the sweetest, freshest mountain air.

again, the orange underpainting with the darks blocked in...

"lupines at midday"

12 x 16 inches

oil on canvas
available for $275
purchase